Failure of hospital employees to comply with smoke-free policy is associated with nicotine dependence and motives for smoking: A descriptive cross-sectional study at a teaching hospital in the United Kingdom

Abstract Background Smoke-free policy aims to protect the health of the population by reducing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance notes that these policies are only successful if there is full and proper enforcement. We aimed to investigate the problem of resistance to smoking restrictions and specifically compliance with smoke-free policy. We hypothesised that an explanation for non-compliance would lie in a measurable difference between the smoking behaviours of compliant and non-compliant smokers, specifically that non-compliance would be associated with nicotine dependence and different reasons for smoking. Methods We conducted a questionnaire-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study of hospital employees. Seven hundred and four members of staff at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK, completed the questionnaire, of whom 101 were smokers. Comparison between compliant and non-compliant smokers was made based on calculated scores for the Fagerström test and the Horn-Waingrow scale, and level of agreement with questions about attitudes. For ordinal data we used a linear-by-linear association test. For non-parametric independent variables we used the Mann-Whitney test and for associations between categorical variables we used the chi-squared test. Results The demographic composition of respondents corresponded with the hospital's working population in gender, age, job profile and ethnicity. Sixty nine smokers reported they were compliant while 32 were non-compliant. Linear-by-linear association analysis of the compliant and non-compliant smokers' answers for the Fagerström test suggests association between compliance and nicotine dependence (p = 0.049). Mann-Whitney test analysis suggests there is a statistically significant difference between the reasons for smoking of the two groups: specifically that non-compliant smokers showed habitual smoking behaviour (p = 0.003). Overall, compliant and non-compliant smokers did not have significantly different attitudes towards the policy or their own health. Conclusion We demonstrate that those who smoke in this setting in contravention to a smoke-free policy do so neither for pleasure (promotion of positive affect) nor to avoid feeling low (reduction of negative affect); instead it is a resistant habit, which has little or no influence on the smoker's mood, and is determined in part by chemical dependence

Revisiting global fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of ethane

Recent measurements over the Northern Hemisphere indicate that the long-term decline in the atmospheric burden of ethane (C2H6) has ended and the abundance increased dramatically between 2010 and 2014. The rise in C2H6 atmospheric abundances has been attributed to oil and natural gas extraction in North America. Existing global C2H6 emission inventories are based on outdated activity maps that do not account for current oil and natural gas exploitation regions. We present an updated global C2H6 emission inventory based on 2010 satellite-derived CH4 fluxes with adjusted C2H6 emissions over the U.S. from the National Emission Inventory (NEI 2011). We contrast our global 2010 C2H6 emission inventory with one developed for 2001. The C2H6 difference between global anthropogenic emissions is subtle (7.9 versus 7.2 Tg yr−1), but the spatial distribution of the emissions is distinct. In the 2010 C2H6 inventory, fossil fuel sources in the Northern Hemisphere represent half of global C2H6 emissions and 95% of global fossil fuel emissions. Over the U.S., unadjusted NEI 2011 C2H6 emissions produce mixing ratios that are 14–50% of those observed by aircraft observations (2008–2014). When the NEI 2011 C2H6 emission totals are scaled by a factor of 1.4, the Goddard Earth Observing System Chem model largely reproduces a regional suite of observations, with the exception of the central U.S., where it continues to underpredict observed mixing ratios in the lower troposphere. We estimate monthly mean contributions of fossil fuel C2H6 emissions to ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate surface mixing ratios over North America of ~1% and ~8%, respectively

The mRNA expression of SETD2 in human breast cancer: Correlation with clinico-athological parameters

BACKGROUND: SET domain containing protein 2 (SETD2) is a histone methyltransferase that is involved in transcriptional elongation. There is evidence that SETD2 interacts with p53 and selectively regulates its downstream genes. Therefore, it could be implicated in the process of carcinogenesis. Furthermore, this gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 3p and we previously demonstrated that the 3p21.31 region of chromosome 3 was associated with permanent growth arrest of breast cancer cells. This region includes closely related genes namely: MYL3, CCDC12, KIF9, KLHL18 and SETD2. Based on the biological function of these genes, SETD2 is the most likely gene to play a tumour suppressor role and explain our previous findings. Our objective was to determine, using quantitative PCR, whether the mRNA expression levels of SETD2 were consistent with a tumour suppressive function in breast cancer. This is the first study in the literature to examine the direct relationship between SETD2 and breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 153 samples were analysed. The levels of transcription of SETD2 were determined using quantitative PCR and normalized against (CK19). Transcript levels within breast cancer specimens were compared to normal background tissues and analyzed against conventional pathological parameters and clinical outcome over a 10 year follow-up period. RESULTS: The levels of SETD2 mRNA were significantly lower in malignant samples (p = 0.0345) and decreased with increasing tumour stage. SETD2 expression levels were significantly lower in samples from patients who developed metastasis, local recurrence, or died of breast cancer when compared to those who were disease free for > 10 years (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a compelling trend for SETD2 transcription levels to be lower in cancerous tissues and in patients who developed progressive disease. These findings are consistent with a possible tumour suppressor function of this gene in breast cancer

Neurospora from natural populations: Population genomics insights into the Life history of a model microbial Eukaryote

The ascomycete filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa played a historic role in experimental biology and became a model system for genetic research. Stimulated by a systematic effort to collect wild strains initiated by Stanford geneticist David Perkins, the genus Neurospora has also become a basic model for the study of evolutionary processes, speciation, and population biology. In this chapter, we will first trace the history that brought Neurospora into the era of population genomics. We will then cover the major contributions of population genomic investigations using Neurospora to our understanding of microbial biogeography and speciation, and review recent work using population genomics and genome-wide association mapping that illustrates the unique potential of Neurospora as a model for identifying the genetic basis of (potentially adaptive) phenotypes in filamentous fungi. The advent of population genomics has contributed to firmly establish Neurospora as a complete model system and we hope our review will entice biologists to include Neurospora in their research

Mineral maturity and crystallinity index are distinct characteristics of bone mineral

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that mineral maturity and crystallinity index are two different characteristics of bone mineral. To this end, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM) was used. To test our hypothesis, synthetic apatites and human bone samples were used for the validation of the two parameters using FTIRM. Iliac crest samples from seven human controls and two with skeletal fluorosis were analyzed at the bone structural unit (BSU) level by FTIRM on sections 2–4 lm thick. Mineral maturity and crystallinity index were highly correlated in synthetic apatites but poorly correlated in normal human bone. In skeletal fluorosis, crystallinity index was increased and maturity decreased, supporting the fact of separate measurement of these two parameters. Moreover, results obtained in fluorosis suggested that mineral characteristics can be modified independently of bone remodeling. In conclusion, mineral maturity and crystallinity index are two different parameters measured separately by FTIRM and offering new perspectives to assess bone mineral traits in osteoporosis

X-ray Absorption and Reflection in Active Galactic Nuclei

X-ray spectroscopy offers an opportunity to study the complex mixture of emitting and absorbing components in the circumnuclear regions of active galactic nuclei, and to learn about the accretion process that fuels AGN and the feedback of material to their host galaxies. We describe the spectral signatures that may be studied and review the X-ray spectra and spectral variability of active galaxies, concentrating on progress from recent Chandra, XMM-Newton and Suzaku data for local type 1 AGN. We describe the evidence for absorption covering a wide range of column densities, ionization and dynamics, and discuss the growing evidence for partial-covering absorption from data at energies > 10 keV. Such absorption can also explain the observed X-ray spectral curvature and variability in AGN at lower energies and is likely an important factor in shaping the observed properties of this class of source. Consideration of self-consistent models for local AGN indicates that X-ray spectra likely comprise a combination of absorption and reflection effects from material originating within a few light days of the black hole as well as on larger scales. It is likely that AGN X-ray spectra may be strongly affected by the presence of disk-wind outflows that are expected in systems with high accretion rates, and we describe models that attempt to predict the effects of radiative transfer through such winds, and discuss the prospects for new data to test and address these ideas.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. 58 pages, 9 figures. V2 has fixed an error in footnote

Thalamic inputs to dorsomedial striatum are involved in inhibitory control: evidence from the five-choice serial reaction time task in rats

Rationale Corticostriatal circuits are widely implicated in the top-down control of attention including inhibitory control and behavioural flexibility. However, recent neurophysiological evidence also suggests a role for thalamic inputs to striatum in behaviours related to salient, reward-paired cues. Objectives Here, we used designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) to investigate the role of parafascicular (Pf) thalamic inputs to the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) using the five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT) in rats. Methods The 5CSRTT requires sustained attention in order to detect spatially and temporally distributed visual cues and provides measures of inhibitory control related to impulsivity (premature responses) and compulsivity (perseverative responses). Rats underwent bilateral Pf injections of the DREADD vector, AAV2-CaMKIIa-HA-hM4D(Gi)-IRES-mCitrine. The DREADD agonist, clozapine N-oxide (CNO; 1 μl bilateral; 3 μM) or vehicle, was injected into DMS 1 h before behavioural testing. Task parameters were manipulated to increase attention load or reduce stimulus predictability respectively. Results We found that inhibition of the Pf-DMS projection significantly increased perseverative responses when stimulus predictability was reduced but had no effect on premature responses or response accuracy, even under increased attentional load. Control experiments showed no effects on locomotor activity in an open field. Conclusions These results complement previous lesion work in which the DMS and orbitofrontal cortex were similarly implicated in perseverative responses and suggest a specific role for thalamostriatal inputs in inhibitory control